Lies on the Serpent's Tongue
In this haunting companion to Bittersweet in the Hollow, a girl who can smell the lies of others uncovers the incendiary mysteries of her small Appalachian town.
Everybody lies. And in knowing their lies, I become the keeper of their secrets.
As Caball Hollow slowly recovers from a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets.
18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths—that’s what happens when you can smell lies on the teller’s breath—and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long struggled with her gift, which has taught her that everyone distorts the truth, and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old rival Hadrian Fitch shows up on her front porch—bloodied and bruised and asking for the kind of help only she can provide—her first instinct is distrust.
Except Hadrian’s attack isn’t the only strange occurrence. Now small items are disappearing, but rather than report the losses the owners act as if their missing things never existed. Rumors of a new monster prowling the Hollow begin to swirl. But how can Rowan smoke out the culprit in a town full of secrets? And worse, how can Rowan trust beautiful, solemn Hadrian when every other word he speaks has the distinct burnt smell of a lie?
Kate Pearsall
Kate Pearsall crafts stories where mystery, folklore, and the complexities of family intertwine, creating young adult fiction that lingers long after the final page. She first captured readers’ attention with Bittersweet in the Hollow, a haunting tale set in the secluded Appalachian town of Caball Hollow. The novel explores the lives of four sisters with extraordinary abilities, navigating secrets, supernatural forces, and the shadows of their family’s past. Pearsall’s writing draws readers into richly atmospheric landscapes, where forests, festivals, and hidden corners of small-town life become characters themselves, shaping the choices and courage of her protagonists.
Bittersweet in the Hollow
In Caball Hollow, the ordinary and the supernatural coexist in uneasy balance, and every corner of the misty Appalachian town seems to hold a secret. The Bittersweet in the Hollow series draws readers into a world where four sisters, each marked by a unique, unexplained gift, navigate the fragile line between family loyalty and the mysteries that lurk in the shadows. Linden James, whose ability to taste the emotions of those around her makes life both vivid and perilous, anchors the story, but it is the sisters’ intertwined destinies and hidden histories that give the narrative its heartbeat.
Bittersweet in the Hollow consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
